Step 1: Watch the Video!

WARNING: Dry Ice is extremely cold! (-78C/-109F) and can cause instant frost-bite to exposed skin. This project should not be attempted without adult supervision and adequate training. Misuse, or careless use, of tools or projects may result in serious injury. Use of this video content is at your own risk.

I think dry ice might be used to eliminate ant nests. I think by placing a chunk of dry ice on the ant mound then covering with something like a garbage bag then weighting the sides of the bag well the carbon dioxide would work its way into the nest, displacing the oxyygen as it sank to the bottom most part of the nest. Because it doesn't poison, so much as axphysiates the ants, it would be completely safe. The soldier ants,, by attacking the chunk would die simply by coming into contact with the cold chunk of co2. I haven't had the opportunity to try this but I think it would work.

I think it might also work to rid one's carpet of a flea infestation. I'm a bit hesitant to use the sprays. Seems like if it dissapated enough oxygen it might kill the eggs too. Wouldn't want to lay it on too thick though if you had small pets or rugrats.

Try Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) instead. It works as a non-toxic pesticide and is so safe that many people take it as a supplement in water. It is great for killing internal parasites without making you sick to get rid of them. External Usage: it has microscopic edges that scratch up the bodies of the insects. When this happens they dry out internally and die. Just poof the dust around the areas where you have crawlies and take off for half an hour while it settles. Then leave it for a few days. In out of the way areas like besides and behind the refrigerator leave it indefinitely. Dead bug. No poison to make any person or pet in your home sick. . It’s perfectly safe but don’t breathe it. Sneeze city (it is a powder after all). It is already in use in the food industry in bulk storage facilities.

Just so you know, D.E. is a fossilized form of a single cell algae, so completely natural. Try sprinkling it on an ant hill and leaving it. You can also rub it into your pets fur. Put it in a sock and rub away. Then comb them and reapply every so often.

neat instructable! being a brewer by trade, I have ready access to Compressed CO2, fabricating some sort of expansion device could make this interesting, if anything, just for giggles and stupid brewer tricks ! :D

But, a CO2 canister equiped with a fire nozzle should be readily refillable at any commercial, or industrial gas/ welding supply shop. could be something interesting for if one wants or needs dry ice there and now and on demand.

as others have stated in the comments, dry ice is usually available through various grocery stores for $1 a pound.. I get mine at all the krogers around town. I usually get some when I'm playing around with cloudchambers to observe radioactive and cosmic particles.

because why not? :D

BUT!.. every year at Halloween, the brewery I work for turns the place into a haunted house for the night, and this might be a way to negate the Dry Ice bill for the event.

I discharged a full 15lb tank and got 5 lbs dry ice. It seems to be a 3:1 ratio liquid CO2 to Dry Ice. I'm sure there are more efficient ways to get more, but that's what I got with the pillowcase method.

Thanks for your comment! Do you get your compressed CO2 at a good price? I plan to completely discharge my extinguisher in one go to see how much ice I get, but I doubt it will be anywhere near 28 lbs worth. It costs me $28 to fill up the tank, so it may not negate your dry ice bill after all?

In addition to being dangerously cold, concentrated CO2 poises an asphyxiation hazard in closed environments. The expanding CO2 can literally push all the normal atmosphere out of small room. That is one of the reasons CO2 extinguishers are fairly rare these days. Best to perform these types of experiments outside.

Check into a product called "Techni-Ice". The sheets are reusable, and can be 'recharged' by placing them in a freezer. Available on Amazon, eBay, etc. Sheets can be cut into smaller pieces. I've used these for years, and am very happy with them.

Have you checked for dry ice? I'm in Arkansas and my local Walmart sells it year round. It's in a small chest freezer in the customer service area. My local Brookshires has started selling it as well. It'd be pretty easy to miss - like I said it's small. I think it's blue and white, and about the size of a small 5 cubic foot chest freezer. About 2 foot by 3 foot or so.

Inxusr is right. Buying from a local store or supplier will be the most cost effective. In the US it costs about $28.50 to charge the fire extinguisher and that's a lot more expensive than just buying dry ice.

I have to say I was expecting a different kind of Instructable based on the title. This is an article about how to convert liquid carbon dioxide in a fire extinguisher to solid "dry ice". To "make dry ice" implies a step-by-step process that is derived from a professional method of making dry ice — i.e. you could scale up and make the steps in the Instructable more economical to get to a professional process, or at least understand how dry ice is made.

Thanks for asking. I'll have that in a new project but basically it's just an ice cream recipe with dry ice mixed in to add the cold, rather than churning for 30 minutes with ice and salt. And it comes out carbonated :)

In the UK CO2 fire extinguishers require discharge testing once every 10 years and the cylinder hydraulically tested. Many fire extinguisher service companies will let you borrow an old CO2 unit that's due discharging provided you return the cylinder (they get a rebate on a new/tested one). When discharging a CO2 extinguisher you should only really hold the handles on top, or place a hand on the back of the cylinder to steady it, the horns usually are self supporting except on the large type. The larger type often have a handle on the horn which is safe to hold. Certainly don't hold any part of the thin discharge hose. Some horns are insulated these days, but in the interest of safety you may be better advised to tie your pillow-case/bag to the horn securely (maybe with a jubilee clip). And try to use gloves when handling the ice. Dry ice in a bowl of punch makes for an interesting halloween centrepiece, although probably best in a seprate bowl to the actual drink.